W.H. Auden's Framework

Currey describes a life of military precision. Auden rose shortly after six, made coffee and settled to work quickly, perhaps after a first pass at the crossword. His mind was sharpest from seven to 11:30 and he rarely wasted those hours. He usually worked again after lunch into the late afternoon. Cocktail hour began at 6:30 sharp with several strong vodka martinis for himself and any guests, then dinner with a great deal of wine and conversation, and bed never later than eleven, closer to 9:30 as he aged. He believed that only the Hitlers of the world work at night, and that no honest artist does. What the chart leaves out, and Currey does not, is the chemistry that held the timetable up: Benzedrine every morning for twenty years, Seconal to sleep, a glass of vodka by the bed for the small hours. Take the shape, an eight-hour night, five hours of morning work, a second afternoon block and a hard stop for people at 6:30, and leave the pharmacy.